You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 171 Troops March into the Valley
Vericcka did not take Count Kant's words seriously.

The absence of mockery was the greatest respect shown to Count Kant.

Vericcka was not about to listen to the sophistry of a loser.

Praising your opponent is tantamount to telling others that their defeat wasn't so bad.

But Steve Gelland felt things weren't that simple.

He had seen Count Conde's army; although they were not very effective, they were still capable of fighting.

He was one of the first nobles to arrive here and spoke with one of the knights under Count Conde, learning the specifics of the situation at the time.

Why are they afraid to attack?

Naturally, it was because they feared excessive casualties.

The young lord was also certain of this!

If Count Kant wants to keep them, he'll have to pay with his life.

If the enemy doesn't collapse, it's Count Kant who will.

This deal is not worth it at all.

But what if Count Condé insists on taking the gamble? What if he forces his army to launch an attack?

After all, we can't expect humans to remain rational forever.

The Earl of Conde's actions indicated that the young lord had lost his gamble, and a brutal bloody battle was about to unfold between them.

The young lord showed no fear, which was somewhat unsettling.

Does this mean they will encounter the same level of resistance when they attack Sig Town?
Guerand was vaguely worried.

……

However, on the other hand, they have an overwhelming numerical advantage.

He brought 1000 infantrymen from the Geyland family.

Vericka also brought 1100 men from his family, which looked even better than Simon's army.

In addition, there were Count Conde's 2000 men.

The total strength is as high as 6400 people.

Now all that remains is for the Berchtes family's forces to assemble with them.

Moreover, these troops were not all infantry; there were also cavalry and archers.

Even the knights of conquest can gather a hundred men.

This force is large enough to launch a large-scale war.

……

They could raze that town to the ground.

The only thing lacking now is transportation capacity.

As salt field owners, their respective territories were thriving in trade, thus they controlled numerous ships and knew many merchants.

They mobilized all the ships they could control and requisitioned all merchant ships passing through the area.

There are now about seventy or eighty in total.

Even when fully loaded, it can only transport a large portion of the troops, and cannot deploy them all.

"This godforsaken place is truly unpleasant. I should have shown that little nobleman the might of my Vericchka family long ago," Foucault once boasted.

Steve knew what the big guy he was talking about was.

It was a large two-masted sailing ship, thirty meters long and seven or eight meters wide, equipped with seventy oars, and capable of carrying three to five hundred people. In that era, it could certainly be considered a large ship.

More importantly, it was incredibly fast, second only to the longships of the Arctic pirates, and it is said that it actually escaped the pirates' plunder—they had been racing at sea for more than ten hours, from day to night, until the exhausted pirates were so weak from rocking that they could only watch helplessly as it entered the inland.

But it couldn't get into that canyon; if it hit a reef, the ship would be destroyed and everyone on board would perish.

Foucault had no intention of burying that precious sailing ship here; saying these things was nothing more than expressing a sense of superiority.

It's as if that scion of the Cracked Armor family has never seen the world.

It has absolutely nothing to do with today's meetings.

……

“Sir Foucault, we must wait for Berchtes; they are also qualified to decide this matter.”

Geirand reminded Vericcka.

Vericcka believed they could strike first and not wait for the Berchtes family.

But the problem is, they captured Sig Town too early. What will happen when Berchtes arrives?
Should we share this meat that's already in our mouths?

If we give it to Berchtes, they didn't contribute anything, so why should we give it to them? If we don't give it to Berchtes, they came all this way only to end up not even getting a taste of the spoils. We need to find someone to fight back against.

It's either the present town of Sig, or the future towns of Geyland and Vericka.

Foucault had no choice but to wait idly, and in the meantime, he gathered more ships.

Five days later.

Berchtes's flag finally appeared in Kande.

They numbered only a hundred, but all were riders, and they marched in a column.

The leader was dressed in blood-red plate armor and a blue cloak, looking very imposing.

"You must be Count Kant."

After dismounting, he walked up to Earl Conde, removed his blood-red helmet, revealing wrinkles on his forehead and black hair mixed with white hair.

"It is a knight who has arrived late," he said.

"Lord Frant de Bechtes sends his greetings."

Sir Foucault was the first to frown. "Frante? You're not Berchtesgaard? And... is this all you have?"

"Sir Vericcka, how many men do you think Berchtes should send?"

This question stumped Vericchka.

He didn't expect the well-equipped Berchtes to send many men, but the current force did not meet his expectations.

He's been waiting here for days.

“Our lord sent us here to check the situation and then we’ll leave,” Frant said with a smile.

He was middle-aged, handsome, and spoke in a way that was like a gentle breeze.

Vericcka's furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

Since fewer people are dispatched, the share of profits will be even smaller.

According to him, Berchtesgaard can be forced to leave by paying a sum of money.

Berchtes is the largest saltworks owner in the Black Iron Lands, capable of refining a certain blood salt. This extraordinary resource nourishes the body and is effective even for knights in battle.

It now appears that the salt mine owner has no intention of getting involved in the salt mine dispute in this remote area.

The three families can indeed control half of the salt production in the Black Iron Lands.

However, the three nobles were vastly different in strength.

A more accurate statement would be that Berchtes was a ruler of the Wei state during the later period of the Three Kingdoms.

Berchtes was previously keen on mining salt mines, and whenever a salt mine appeared, Berchtes would always get involved. More than ten years ago, he had even fought a war with other nobles.

They were unwilling to confront the strongest saltworks owner in the Black Iron Lands, so they had prepared for negotiations, but they did not expect that the latter would choose to give up this time.

Steve felt this was related to the current turbulent situation in the Black Iron Lands.

Berchtes is currently unable to focus on this remote region, let alone commit a large number of troops.

"Sir Frant, it's you! We've been waiting for you for a long time." Earl Condé warmly received the knight-errant named Frant.

The two middle-aged men chatted happily, having similar experiences and many common topics.

During the visit, the Earl of Condé praised Sir Frant highly, repeatedly mentioning a battle that took place more than a decade earlier.

Frant gained fame for defeating seven knights and capturing four others in one battle.

However, very few people mention that battle nowadays.

Verichka disagreed.

He was merely a retainer of Berchtesgaard and not worth paying attention to.

Once a knight-errant reaches forty, his physical abilities decline rapidly, and all he can boast about are his past glories. But as he matures, he will become famous and create new achievements.

Steve of the Geland family echoed this sentiment, showing great respect for the somewhat aged war knight. A war knight who could leave a mark on the battlefield must at least be of the fourth or fifth rank in strength.

The strongest warriors brought by Geyland and Vericka were basically third-tier knights.

Carter and Simon welcomed Frant's arrival, and their enthusiasm grew even stronger after learning that he would not be involved in the competition for the salt mines.

Guéland and Vericcca viewed them as business rivals, speaking with veiled barbs. Had Count Condé not intervened several times, a conflict would have erupted between them long ago.

Even so, old grudges have already been sown.

The fact that Berchtesgaard, who should have been the most powerful and domineering, treated them kindly undoubtedly relieved them.

After a day of rest, the group prepared to march on Sige Town.

(End of this chapter)